Katie Ledecky Swims into History with 800 Freestyle Victory at the Paris Olympics

US' Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (AFP)
US' Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (AFP)
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Katie Ledecky Swims into History with 800 Freestyle Victory at the Paris Olympics

US' Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (AFP)
US' Katie Ledecky competes in the final of the women's 800m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 3, 2024. (AFP)

Every year on Aug. 3, Katie Ledecky is reminded of her first Olympic gold medal.

She was just 15 years old, a reserved high schooler who had surprisingly made the US swim team for the London Games. Then she went out and shocked the world, beating everyone in the 800-meter freestyle.

Twelve years to the day, Ledecky did it again.

Not a stunner, but one for the ages.

Gold medal No. 9.

Ledecky capped another stellar Olympics by becoming only the second swimmer to win an event at four straight Summer Games, holding off Ariarne Titmus, the "Terminator," to win the 800 free Saturday night.

It was Ledecky's second gold medal in Paris and the ninth of her remarkable career, which marked another milestone.

She became only the sixth Olympian to reach that figure, joining swimmer Mark Spitz, track star Carl Lewis, Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina and Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi in a tie for second place.

The only athlete to win more golds: swimmer Michael Phelps with 23.

Ledecky was very aware of the significance of the date.

“Every Aug. 3, the video (of her first Olympic gold) gets posted somewhere and you kind of reminisce,” she said. “So, when I saw it was Aug. 3, I was like, ‘Oh boy, I’ve got to get the job done.'”

That she did, going faster than her winning time in Tokyo to finish in 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds. Titmus was right on her shoulder nearly the entire race, but Ledecky pulled away in the final 100.

Titmus, who beat Ledecky in the 400 freestyle, settled for silver at 8:12.29. The bronze went to another American, Paige Madden at 8:13.00.

Phelps had been the only swimmer to win the same event at four straight Olympics, taking gold in the 200 individual medley at Athens, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro.

Now he’s got company.

Titmus added some perspective to Ledecky's consistency over the last dozen years, noting where she was when the American won that first gold in London.

“I was in grade six in primary school,” Titmus said. “That’s how remarkable she is.”

Their friendly rivalry has driven both to greater heights. They each won two golds and four medals at these games, which pushed Ledecky to 14 overall and left the 23-year-old Aussie with four golds and eight medals in her career.

"To think that ... I challenged her into her fourth consecutive in the 800 is pretty cool,” Titmus said. “I feel very honored and privileged to be her rival, and I hope I’ve made her a better athlete. She has certainly made me become the athlete I am. I felt so privileged to race alongside her.”

Ledecky has dominated the distance freestyle events over the last dozen years — and isn’t done yet. She's made it clear she plans to keep swimming at least through the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“It’s not easy,” Ledecky said. “I’ll take it year by year, and we’ll see if I can keep giving everything I’ve got for as long as I have left in me.”

Another gold for Canadian teenager Summer McIntosh

Summer McIntosh stamped herself as one of the swimming stars of the Paris Olympics with her third individual gold medal, winning the 200 individual medley.

The 17-year-old Canadian chased down American Alex Walsh and held off another US swimmer, Kate Douglass, to finish in an Olympic record of 2:06.56.

Douglass grabbed the silver in the star-studded final at 2:06.92, but the Americans lost the bronze when Walsh, the silver medalist in this event at Tokyo who recorded a time of 2:07.06, was disqualified because she did not finish the backstroke segment on her back.

Kaylee McKeown, who touched fourth, was bumped up to the bronze at 2:08.08.

It was a bitter blow for Walsh, whose younger sister, Gretchen, has won a gold medal and two silvers in Paris.

McIntosh set several world records ahead of the Paris Olympics, and she backed up the enormous expectations by claiming a starring role at La Defense Arena along with Léon Marchand and Ledecky.

McIntosh also won gold medals in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM, plus a silver in the 400 freestyle. She fell just 0.88 seconds — the margin of her loss to Titmus — shy of matching Marchand’s four individual golds.

“It’s pretty surreal,” said McIntosh, who became the first Canadian athlete to win three golds in a single Olympics. “I’m just so proud of myself and how I’ve been able to recover and manage events."

US sets world record in mixed relay

The United States made up for a disappointing showing in Tokyo by setting a world record in the 4x100 mixed medley relay.

Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske held off China for a winning time of 3:37.43, breaking the mark of 3:37.58 set by Britain when it won gold in the wild and woolly event's Olympic debut three years ago.

With each team picking two men and two women, the US and China both went with their male swimmers in the first two legs.

Murphy put the US in front on the backstroke, China's Qin Haiyang slipped past Nic Fink on the breaststroke, but Walsh stormed back in front for the Americans on the butterfly before Huske held off Yang Junxuan to secure the gold.

For Huske, it was her second gold to go with two silvers in Paris.

The Chinese team, which also included Xu Jiayu and Zhang Yufei, took silver in 3:37.55. The bronze went to Australia in 3:38.76.

Marchand swam the breaststroke leg for France but couldn't add to his already impressive haul. The French finished fourth, more than two seconds behind the Aussies.

When the British won gold in 2021, the Americans finished fifth. Britain was seventh this time.

The US bumped its total to six golds, one behind leading Australia with four events remaining Sunday. The Americans are assured of winning the overall medal count with 25.

Hungarian claims butterfly gold

Kristóf Milák of Hungary won the men’s 100 butterfly, chasing down three swimmers on the return lap.

Milák was only fourth at the turn, but he rallied to touch in 49.90. Canada grabbed the silver and bronze, with Josh Liendo finishing in 49.99 and Ilya Kharun next at 50.45.

Milák had failed to defend his Olympic title in the 200 butterfly, settling for a silver behind Marchand.

Milák claimed silver in the 100 fly three years ago, but he didn’t have to worry about the guy who beat him in that race. American Caeleb Dressel stunningly failed to qualify for the final.

Kharun added another bronze to the one he garnered in the 200 butterfly.



Murray to Coach Djokovic Through Australian Open

FILE - Serbia's Novak Djokovic, left, and Britain's Andy Murray holds their trophy after their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Sunday, June 5, 2016 in Paris. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - Serbia's Novak Djokovic, left, and Britain's Andy Murray holds their trophy after their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Sunday, June 5, 2016 in Paris. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
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Murray to Coach Djokovic Through Australian Open

FILE - Serbia's Novak Djokovic, left, and Britain's Andy Murray holds their trophy after their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Sunday, June 5, 2016 in Paris. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - Serbia's Novak Djokovic, left, and Britain's Andy Murray holds their trophy after their final match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium, Sunday, June 5, 2016 in Paris. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

The recently retired Andy Murray is going to team up with longtime rival Novak Djokovic as his coach, they both announced Saturday, with plans to prepare for — and work together through — the Australian Open in January.
It was a stunning bit of news as tennis moves toward its offseason, a pairing of two of the most successful and popular players in the sport, both of whom are sometimes referred to as members of a so-called Big Four that also included Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion who has spent more weeks at No. 1 than any other player in tennis history. Murray won three major trophies and two Olympic singles gold medals and finished 2016 atop the ATP rankings. He ended his playing career after the Paris Summer Games in August.
Both men are 37 and were born a week apart in May 1987. They started facing each other as juniors and wound up meeting 36 times as professionals, with Djokovic holding a 25-11 advantage.
“We played each other since we were boys — 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits. We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game-changers, risk-takers, history-makers,” Djokovic posted on social media over photos and videos from some of their matches. “I thought our story may be over. Turns out, it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome on board, Coach — Andy Murray.”
Djokovic's 2024 season is over, and it was not up to his usual, high standards. He didn't win a Grand Slam trophy; his only title, though, was meaningful to him: a gold medal for Serbia in singles at the Summer Games.
Djokovic has been without a full-time coach since splitting in March from Goran Ivanisevic.
“I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the offseason, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open," The Associated Press quoted Murray as saying in a statement released by his management team. "I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.”
Their head-to-head series on tour includes an 11-8 lead for Djokovic in finals, and 8-2 at Grand Slam tournaments.
Djokovic beat Murray four times in the Australian Open final alone — in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016.
Two of the most important victories of Murray's career came with Djokovic on the other side of the net. One was in the 2012 US Open final, when Murray claimed his first Grand Slam title. The other was in the 2013 Wimbledon final, when Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win the singles championship at the All England Club.
Next year's Australian Open starts on Jan. 12.